Anshe Sfard synagogue being demolished, Portland, 1983

Description

Anshe Sfard, a Chassidic Jewish synagogue on Cumberland Avenue in Portland near the corner of Wilmot Street, was demolished in 1983. Polish immigrants built the synagogue in 1917, and it closed sometime in the 1950s.

The neighborhood was razed as part of the late 1950s and 1960s urban renewal efforts, which involved clearing land to create the Franklin Arterial as a corridor for traffic entering and leaving Portland.

The synagogue remained empty until 1983 when the building's last owners tore it down and turned the area into a parking lot.